Redtape is the rule of law...
“Bureaucracy destroys initiative. There is little that bureaucrats hate more than innovation, especially innovation that produces better results than the old routines..." -Frank Herbert
I've been working from home for five weeks now and have been grateful to do so.
It's been a welcome distraction from the chaos of the world even though my work has focused on that very chaos.
I'd be lying if I said that it doesn't get to me at times. It's hard for it not to. In less than a month, the fabric of this country's being has changed. It will likely be a long time after the coronavirus goes away before we get back to some semblance of normal.
Although some truther types will likely disagree with me, there's no doubt that this virus has been nothing short of destructive. An invisible killer that never seems to let up. This week showed us a glimmer of hope...brief signs that the curve may begin to flatten. Something that has provided me some optimism needed during these times.
I'm confident that we will get ahead of this virus...science can be amazing in that way. But my optimism is not as strong about the country's efforts to get life back to normal.
I'm worried about the aftermath.
Earlier this week I reported on the loans provided by the Small Business Administration to entrepreneurs and business owners across the country. They sought out to provide disaster relief loans, including a $10,000 advance, as well as specialized loans to help fulfill payroll payments to their workers. I had the opportunity to speak with some of those who applied...Some who got lucky and some who were not.
"I have applied for every single loan available and all they can tell me is that I'm in the queue," one business owner from Central New Jersey told me during a phone interview earlier this week. I'm declining to provide details about her other than she operates a specialized medical facility. While she agreed to go on the record for my article she was not asked for this post.
She says she has had zero luck as she tried to navigate these strange times.
"I've had zero luck. Well, you can hear I'm on the verge of tears right now. I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to reopen," she tells me.
"And that's what got me so frustrated. I know that my landlord needs to be paid. And he's been kind enough to forego this month, you know, to put it on hold. But he also needs to be paid. I have bills that need to be paid as well."
"And what's so frustrating is that on top of all of this, New Jersey's unemployment system has failed us tremendously. It's just overwhelming and so anxiety-producing and losing sleep over this and checking bank accounts every day, looking for this funding that's never coming."
"I've had zero luck. Well, you can hear I'm on the verge of tears right now. I don't know where I'm going with this. I don't know if I'm ever going to be able to reopen…"
Stories like this are all too common in America during times of crisis or rebuilding efforts. Bureaucracy and red tape always seem to get in the way as we try to help the hardest-hit get back on their feet. We've seen it on repeat...Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Superstorm Sandy in the Northeast. Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Our nation's veterans who got sick after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are still waiting for help. Hell, it took 20 years for 9/11 first responders to get help for Washington.
Time will only tell what will happen to the entrepreneurial spirit of America.
"There's just this scripted response that everyone is getting," the business owner tells me. "we're told that they see our applications, that we can't get an update on where they are in the queue. We don't know when we're going to be funded. Some people are getting funding being deposited into their accounts and never getting any information or communication from the SBA."
"So, there's a lack of transparency with the government and letting us know where all this is going? You know, how are we supposed to function? How are we supposed to at least craft the plan when there's so much unknown and so much uncertainty?"
A day after I conducted our interviews, the SBA announced that they reached the allotted amount of money earmarked for loans. 2 million approved before the cutoff. The administration touted how they processed 14 years’ worth of loans in the same amount of days. Unprecedented for certain, but many of those who applied are still without a lifeline.
The SBA and the department of treasury are asking for an extra allotment for funds to continue providing loans and they need to act as the program is unable to continue if there's a lapse.
It's safe to say that time is of the essence, but in Washington, both sides of the aisle are doing what they do best--locked in stalemate as they debate new funding while thousands like that woman back in New Jersey still have no relief in sight. Each day this goes on, the closer they are to losing everything they worked so hard to build.
The only thing they can count on is bureaucratic wrangling.